Antiskid attachment for shoes



Aug. 3, 1954 P. N. DAVENPORT ANTISKID ATTACHMENT FOR SHOES Filed Sept.20, 1951 34 Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Pearl /V. Dave/won IN V EN TOR.

Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES- eerie-E Pearl N. Davenport, Truthor Consequences, N. Mex.

Application September 20, 1951, Serial No. 247,431

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements .in.shoe attachments which are employed to enable one'to walk, perhaps evenrun, on slippery surfaces covered with ice, snow, oily-water, and thelike and has more particular reference to devices which have beenreferred to as ice creepers, antiskid overshoes, traction attachmentsand so on.

Those familiar with devices and appliances in the stated category areaware that countless persons year in and year out encounter seriousinjuries to arms, legs and other body parts which are chargeable tosliding and falling on icy walkways, slippery steps, pavements and soon. N aturally, prior inventors have not in any sense of the wordoverlooked the need for shoe attachments to cope with the problem ofsafe wallking diniculties during winter seasons. Nevertheless, anddespite the various single and joint efforts of inventors in this lineof endeavor, prior art devices purposed to solve the problem have nevermet with widespread indorsement, adoption or use. It follows that it isthe object of the instant invention to provide an antiskid shOeattachment which, it is believed, more aptly answers the need for asatisfactory traction promoting device, one Which is safe and reliable,easy to apply and remove and otherwise aptly intended to achieve desiredends.

Another object of the invention, generally speaking, is to improve uponand reduce the number of parts entering into the over-all combination,thereby not only increasing the sufficiency of the structure as a whole,but also rendering same less costly to manufacture and to otherwisesimplify factors of assembling and sale.

An equally general, but nevertheless important object, is to provide asimple, economical and eflicient antiskid attachment which is calculatedto better meet the needs for more satisfactory and acceptableconstruction but is one in which manufacturers, retailers and users willfind their respective requirements and needs fully met and appropriatelycontained.

Prior art constructions similar in purpose and construction to the oneherein under advisement reveal that it is old to use a sole-shapedmember or platform, to provide means whereby same is strapped orotherwise connected with the shoe of the wearer and wherein theunderside has antiskid means of one type or another. The presentinvention appertains, as an improvement, to the particular antiskidmaterial and the manner in which the same is applied for best results.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from thefollowing description and pa y g sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the attachment constituting the instantinvention and showing the manner in which the same is constructed andapplied for use.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the improved tread means.

Figure 3 is a cross-section taken on the vertical line L--3 of Figure 1,looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to Figures 1 and 3 the numeral 4 designates a sole-shapedplatform. This may be of leather, rubber, rubberized fabric, or anysuitable combination of these materials where, for instance, they aresuitable to provide the desired platform element or means. The platformunderlies and is, of course, fastened against the heel 6 and sole 3portions of the conventional shoe Ill. Means is provided to bring aboutthe desired coacting relationship between the elements 4, 6 and 8. Forexample, there is what may be conveniently called an ankle strap 62 andthis has buckle means 14 and is attached to loops It on verticalattaching straps It. It is also attached by loop means 20 to an instepstrap 2| having a loop 22 joined to a toe strap 24.

As before stated, the chief novelty of the instant case, has to do withthe media or material means employed to provide the underside of theplatform with reliable and prerequisite traction and antiskidproperties. Properties which are such that members of the public may bereadily persuaded to adopt and use antiskid attachments of the typeherein revealed. One or more compressibly resilient layers orlaminations of antiskid material are required to achieve this end. InFigure 3 three such layers or laminations are shown, the upperlamination being denoted at 26, the lower one at 23 and the intermediateone at 30. Here again, these laminations are sole-shaped and they aresuperimposed one upon the other. Each lamination is a composition ofmetallic material, actually a cushion-like mat, the latter being made upof ribbon-like strands of copper or suitable or equivalent metal andthese being interwoven or otherwise interconnected in pad-like form,similar for instance, to the interlaced open wire construction found forexample in copper or equivalent household scouring pads. One mightutilize the latter types of pads by having them made in the layer orlamination form shown in the drawings. In any event, each layer orlamination becomes a pad having proper wear resisting, tractionpromoting and cushioning characteristics. Not only this, the threepadded layers are disposed in superimposed alignment and they are thenall three stitched orderly in place to give the tufted patchworkappearance shown in the drawings. Actually, what is accomplished here isthat the metallic pads are quilted by rows of stitchings. There arelengthwise rows of stitchings denoted in Figure 2 by the numerals 32 andthese are in spaced parallelism and then there are coacting crosswiserows of stitchings which are denoted by the numerals 34. The stitchingsare so arranged in crossed relationship that the quilted effect is hadand triple layer cushioned metallic block-like treads 36 are provided.Obviously, these wire stranded laminations not only provide the desiredcushioning or padded effect but they constitute ideal ways and meansaffording reliable traction on ice and the more the Weight exerted, thegreater the antiskid pressure is against the slippery surface. It isbelieved that this quilted compressibly resilient multiple layerconstruction forms tread means which is far superior to tread elementsof rubber, special cleats, chains, calks and other antiskid members.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts maybe resorted to in actual practice provided no departure is made from theinvention as claimed.

Having described the invention, claimed as new is:

An antiskid attachment for a shoe comprising a sole-shaped platform,means for fastening the same against and securing it to said shoe,antiskid tread means comprising a plurality of duplicate laminationssuperimposed upon each other, each said lamination being made up ofinterwoven loosely interconnected metallic wires having antiskid andcushioning properties, and means for securing said laminations to theunderside of said platform comprising stitching arranged in first rowswhich extend in spaced parallelism lengthwise of the platform and secondrows which extend in spaced parallelism with each other crosswise of theplatform, the respective rows crossing each other and definingsubstantially rectangular tufts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS whatis Number Name Date 1,495,289 Heimerl et a1 May 27, 1924 1,569,854 DoerrJan. 19, 1926 2,189,489 Fritz Feb. 6, 1940 2,399,638 Kalnitz May 7, 1946

